Prep Week: Marathon Build No.3
And a Preview of Week 1.
“Beat the Heat Drill Sergeant BEAT THE HEAT. Cause their aint no HEAT like the Oklahoma HEAT cause the OKLAHOMA HEAT IS HOT AS FUCK” - U.S. Army Basic Training - 1999 - Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.
Getting acclimated to heat and humidity is physiological and psychological. It takes exposure, time and acceptance. When I left Idaho in 1999 for Basic Training in Oklahoma my understanding of a hot summer day was 87F with no humidity. We wore sweatshirts on Summer nights when the temperature would drop to the 50’s. So when I arrived to Oklahoma and the temperatures were well above 90 in October, I was unprepared physically and mentally.
Through exposure, training, time and acceptance, I slowly became acclimated to my new climate. The same was true when I traveled to the Middle East and Asia. The human body is capable great adaptations, and that’s what we’re doing. Adapting our bodies and minds to the physical, mental and emotional stressors of running 26.2 miles.
For the past 25 years I’ve been living in “The South” and I’m still here, training for my 3rd Marathon. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it matters where you’re at. Make the proper adjustments for your current location and climate that supports training and healthy recovery.
Monday: 7.8.2024 (Prep Day 1): TDC Stage 3 ~ 1.97miles
Never miss a Monday. The decision that I made has now become a repetitive mantra of my subconscious that drives what I’m doing on a Monday. I now feel compelled to wake up early and take on some physical activity that challenges me physically and mentally. I’ve trained this into my being.
Do I always want to wake up early on a Monday? Hell no.
While it may be discipline that’s driving me out of the house before sunrise, it was the silent-vibrating alarm of my COROS PACE 2 that woke me from my dreams of living on the Italian coast and swimming in the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Until I can make those dreams a reality, here I am on the road to go run Stage 3 of the Tour de Clayton.
The Tour de Clayton or “TDC” is a 12-stage running event hosted by my running club. We have 12 different legs to run throughout the town of varying degrees of difficulty and distance. Today I’m tackling a 1.97 mile route through a local park, this ought to be easy.
The first red flag of the morning was that I felt great driving to the location! I’ve learned that the majority of my “great” runs occur on those days when I don’t feel like running. This morning I felt great, wanted to run and the sunrise provided a small shot of motivation to fuel the fire of running on a Monday.
The course was to complete two loops around a great city park that had multiple bathrooms and porta-johns available. The loop was 90% paved with a 10% dirt road that routed me through a wood-line near the creek. Nothing like keeping an eye out for Copperheads and Cottonmouths during my run, however I’ve gained an inept ability to jump over these venomous belly beasts when needed.
The first loop was much harder than anticipated! My cheery attitude and ambition for running was quickly smothered by the heavy blanket of humidity then doused with heat. It felt like the energy was being zapped out of me with every step and soon I realized that sweating would have zero affect on cooling me down.
It was just after I passed the porta-johns next to the trail that mother nature came bursting into my life like Seal Team-6 into the Bin Laden compound. I had to address the matter at hand and quickly, however I was in a bind. I had only 0.85 miles left of this stage and was 0.75 miles from the porta-johns I had just passed. I could hold it.
My pace quickly dropped and my overall time increased substantially. The mantra of “Don’t miss a Monday” quickly switched beats to “Don’t lose your socks”. I was in a public park with multiple bathrooms, I was determined to make it to the porta-johns.
After nearly 2-miles of sweating and stammering down the trail, I found myself in the closest porta-john and had a quick flashback of my time trying to survive the 140-degree porta-johns in Kuwait and Iraq. The increased heat triggered a natural response to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Thank you U.S. Army, for training my body to deal with Mother Nature like a NASCAR pitstop.
While my pace decreased to a pitiful number and my overall time was sorry, I had two positives on the morning!
I witnessed a good sunrise before the run. I didn’t lose my socks in my local, public park.
1.98 Miles | Avg Pace: 9’20” | Best Mile: 8’53” | Feeling: Not Surprised.
Tuesday: 7.9.2024 (Prep Day 2): Two-a-day on a Tuesday.
It aligned perfectly! Track Tuesday with Stage 4 of the TDC which was 1-mile for time. We had a great group show up for the morning workout, ready to tackle the day by getting around the track as fast as possible.
The workout started with an 800m warmup run at a leisurely pace to work up a sweat and get the legs ready to go hard. It only took me 250m to start sweating and the other 550m were just for the legs. After two full laps I was ready to tackle this 1-mile time trial.
Here’s an insider-tip if you’ve never ran on a standard track before. If you are going for a 1-mile on the track, do it form Lane 1 or Lane 2 to make your effort as close as possible to 4 laps per mile.
Lane 1 = 400m = 1312.34ft = 0.2485mile | You’ll have to do just slightly more than 4 laps.
Lane 2 = 407.7m = 1337.6 ft = 0.2533mile | You’ll run slightly less than 4 laps.
I took off too fast!
After the first lap at 6’44” I was pretty winded but my legs felt strong so I kept pushing, but sure enough the pace kept slowing. Lap 2: 7’33”, Lap 3: 7’44” and the last lap: 7’51”. When it was over I was pretty thrashed.
Hard to believe that my Maximal Effort today for 1-mile was 7’26”. This is the same pace I am required to run the Mesa Marathon in February 2026 to qualify for the 131st running of the Boston Marathon. I have a lot of improvements to make.
I’ve got 577 days to keep that pace for 25.2 more miles. It’s going to be one crazy adventure!
Two-A-Day:
After a day of hydrating I was back out on the trail at 6:30pm for an evening run to complete Stage 6 of the TDC for 2.76 miles. I met up with the club, a small but mighty group and decided to take this run rather easy in this Real Feel temperature of 99F.
I made a mistake, a rather embarrassing mistake. I failed to meet the minimum distance for the Stage and was a DNF on this run. What makes it worse is that I’m the one who created this route. You’d think I’d have it memorized, but I forgot. The heat got to me and diffused the synapse points that brought back memory recall and when I reached the finish line, I thought I was done.
The route is prescribed at 2.76 miles and I finished at 2.71 miles. A true DNF.
You’ll see another attempt at this route soon.
Following the evening run I started a new habit of drinking a protein shake in place of a meal and a beer. Increasing protein post-run will help in muscle growth and recovery and replaces the empty calories of beer. Taking in more protein and creatine post run will become part of my normal 16-week training strategy.
Total Distance: 5.31miles | +99F Real Feel | Best Mile: 7’26” | Feeling: A Natural Sauna
Wednesday: 7.10.2024 (Prep Day 3): “You’re going to break ribs”
Before making my way to the trail for my ritual Wednesday 5K, I met up with fellow runners at our local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) station for CPR training. This was the first medical training coordinated for the club and it ended up being a great training opportunity.
Our instructor was a seasoned Paramedic gave us a reality check up front.
You’re going to break ribs.
Initiating a hands-only CPR requires to compress the chest 2” at a rate of 120bpm, or basically the rhythm of “staying alive” requires training. She made it very clear that you will hear some cracks and feel some crunching as you’re breaking ribs. However a few broken ribs is better than dead, so keep going. You’ve also got to sustain CPR for a minimum of 2-minutes.
This training reminded me of an acronym we used 25yrs ago for Evaluating a Casualty.
Really Big Boobs Should Fit Both Hands. (R.B.B.S.F.B.H)
Responsiveness. Breathing. Bleeding. Shock. Fractures. Burns and Head Injuries.
After 2003 and experiencing many combat casualties it was clear that bleeding should be addressed before breathing. Things change.
It was drilled into my head 25 years ago and it’s stuck ever since. In fact I’ve fallen back onto this training on a handful of occasions overseas and here in the states.
CPR is required when there is no responsiveness and no heartbeat and/or breathing is detected.
It was a great learning experience and I feel it supplemented and enhanced the skills and knowledge already packed into my head. Our next step is to identify which business that we run past downtown have an AED Device available in case of emergency.
Following the training Carlos and I linked up for a 5K run in the heat and humidity. With a real feel temperature above 105, it was a slow journey out and back at a comfortable pace. I’m glad Carlos stuck with me as the humidity was like a lead blanket weighing me down and the heat only exacerbated the situation.
Mile 1: 10’06” | Mile 2: 10’12” | Mile 3: 10’37”.
Distance: 3.11miles | +100F Real Feel | Best Mile: 10’00” | Feeling: Heated
Thursday: 7.11.2024 (Prep Day 4): Passed on a Free Beer.
In preparation for next week, I decided to put my “Easy Run” pace as prescribed by my coach to the test. My Easy Run (Long Runs) are starting with a pace of 10’18” - 11’18”, this is roughly 20seconds faster than where I started in 2023. My current natural running state is a 9’30” pace, so for me to slow down to meet this pace will require a concerted effort and awareness of what I’m doing.
To help keep me in this pace zone, I’ve set the distance and pace on my watch. I’ve turned off all audio alerts on the watch and it simply vibrates if I’ve deviated outside of the expected pace. There’s even a “Gas Gauge” type of view on my watch that indicates where I am in my pace zone.
I was thankful to see the Jeep reporting a temperature of 86F while driving to the club run. It feels like temperatures have been +90 with +90% humidity since Memorial Day weekend, so today feels pretty good. With the overcast blocking out the sun, the evening run felt relatively easy. You’ve got to take advantage of days like this, especially in the summer.
Starting at the back of the pack, I picked up my easy pace and began my 5-mile shuffle. Immediately I was upset that I didn’t bring my headphones as I was by myself for the majority of this run. Some music would have been nice. However, I had already started and I sure as hell wasn’t turning around! Once I get started, I’m going.
Overall the run was easy with plenty of sweating despite the cooler temps, humidity does that to you. Around mile 2.6 I had to visit the local gas station to utilize the restroom before returning to the trail for the last 2.4 miles. I’ve been running in the south for over two decades now and I’ve learned that when I start overheating, the first sign is an immediate need to release bodily fluids. It was true in 2000, still true in 2024. I handled my business and made my way back to the brewery.
My friend Dave pre-paid for my beer and I had to turn it down. I felt bad telling my friend “no”, but I’ve got goals and cutting my weekly post-run beers is part of achieving them. Instead of the golden ale with it’s cool crisp taste and tiny bubbles exciting my taste buds, I opted for a protein shake. Yeah, I know, what the hell was I thinking. Free Beer? Nothing tastes better. Except a Sub 4hr Marathon.
5.01 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’49” | Avg HR: 140 | Best Mile: 10’48” | Another Easy Day
Friday: 7.12.2024 (Prep Day 5): Rest Day.
It wasn’t planned but was much needed after a night of little sleep. Combine lack of sleep with an overcast and rainy day and well, I spent the day hydrating and tackling life tasks that needed my attention. Sometimes that’s the way the day goes.
However, The Marathon and Week 1 were not far off my mind. I find myself looking forward to next week and kicking off this training.
Saturday: 7.13.2024 (Prep Day 6): Humidity thick as soup….GOOD!
It’s Mid-July in The South and it’s as humid as the laws of nature allow. In fact I believe mother nature was pushing the law of nature and actually edged the humidity beyond 100%. By the end of the run, the air was so thick with moisture we were running through floating water droplets. No, it was not raining or “misting”, the humidity was so think and heavy that in fact you could feel the microscopic water droplets impact your face and accumulate on the skin.
GOOD! It’s challenging runs like this that build strength and make those cool fall miles so much sweeter.
In the club we call it “Free Association Running” or FAR. It’s when someone posts a starting time and location as an open invite for anyone to join in. It’s a Your-Pace, Your-Distance event where runners of all abilities share the trail and support each other.
This morning we had 21 runners in the picture, another 5 on the trail already and 1 who missed the picture but still got in the miles. Overall 27 runners in the club showed up on an incredibly humid and warm July morning to put in the work.
This run included Stage 5 of our Tour de Clayton. A 2.21 miles stretch on our local greenway that is flat and fast! We had many runners take this distance head on and set incredible PR’s on this distance. We had three men run together in a little bit of friendly competition and resulted in increased performance. They each averaged a sub 7min/mile pace, which given the heat and humidity was incredible.
As for myself I kept my pace between 10’18” to 11'18” to be aligned with my coaches prescription for next week. The pace was laid back and easy and I enjoyed a large portion of the run with my friend Dwayne. After completing Stage 5 (2.21miles) I took a short break for some cold water, before continuing down the trail another 0.8 miles before turning around. My intent on the morning was 6-miles, no matter what.
Over the next 3.8 miles, I shared the trail with Robert, Jon, Kean, Dwayne, Mike and Leah. It was an easy pace given the oppressive humidity and we pushed on towards the finish with conversation that seemed in unison with the pitter patter of our feet.
It was near that finish that Leah indicated she was on track for a new 10K PR!! However we’d have to go about 0.15 miles beyond the finish but we all decided we were in! So without hesitation, we pushed onwards to finish out the 10K distance.
Leah set a new 10K PR by almost 9-minutes!
Overall I got in 6.28 miles, all within my pace goals while being able to tag along and witness my friend achieving a new 10K PR!
We really did pick it up the last mile. Here’s the breakdown of my last 4.06 miles, the last couple with Leah.
Mile 1: 10’57” | Mile 2: 11’01” | Mile 3: 11’00” | Mile 4: 10’12”
6.28 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’34” | Avg HR: 136 | Best Mile: 10’12” | Cutting Through Clouds
Post Run Activities:
After my Saturday long run I got home and made an incredible breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns and sausage. It his the spot! I began hydrating all day and we were invited out to a local Italian Restaurant for our good friend’s Birthday celebration. The food was great and the conversations flowed. Generally during a dinner like this I keep my phone tucked away and give my attention to my friends. So when we left at 6:30pm, my wife says “You need to see the news!"
The Assassination Attempt:
Following dinner it was an evening of shock as the country witnessed divine intervention as President Trump was shot in the ear during an Assassination Attempt in Pennsylvania. The round literally missed a kill shot by centimeters.
The pictures and video from the seconds and moments afterward were some of the most powerful images I’ve ever seen during a Presidential Campaign. A bloodied Trump, fist raised, standing in defiance against those who wish him destroyed and dead. It’s simply a remarkable image.
Sunday: 7.14.2024 (Prep Day 7): Swimming and Monday Prep
As I’m writing this the Tour de France is wrapping up Stage 15 and this dictates my days actions. As soon as this is over I’ll be heading to the YMCA to get in a 1,000yds of swimming followed by a short run before calling it a day and wrapping things up at home.
It’s been an interesting prep week and I’m looking forward to diving head-first into training next week.
Week 1 Preview: 26.5 miles planned.
Monday: Swim 1,000yds + Strength Training.
Tuesday: Easy Run: 4.0 miles at 10’18”-11’18”
Wednesday: Quality Session: 2-mi warmup + 2-miles at 8’39” + 2.5mile cooldown.
Thursday: Easy Run: 5.0 miles at 10’18” - 11’18”
Friday: Swim 1,000yds + Strength Training
Saturday: Easy Run: 3.0 miles at 10’18” - 11’18”
Sunday: Easy Run (Long Run) at 10’18”-11'18”